Digital Commons Network^™

Adoption And Integration Of Best Practice Methods In Secondary English Teaching, Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil

Dissertations

Commencing with a critical examination of the history and rhetorical force of the term "best practice," this dissertation undertakes a qualitative study of three secondary English teachers, considering their adoption and integration of best practice methods. The subjects, represented by urban, suburban and rural secondary schools, were National Writing Project participants identified as "exemplary teachers" by a NWP site director. "Best practice" methods analyzed included the process model for the teaching of writing and literature, student decision-making, and a low-risk writing environment. Factors that were found to influence the adoption of best practice methods included undergraduate and preservice experiences, intern …

Neon Allegiance, Jason Paul Olsen

Dissertations

This collection of thirty-one poems is built around my personal search for place, the idea of "home," and how it is relationship more than mere geography that defines the places one encounters in a life. In these poems, that idea of "home" ties back to intimate relationships with family and friends, but also with relationships involving culture—both historical and popular—as a whole.

The collection itself is a pastiche of strategies and stylizations, united by a defined and consistent voice. The geographic locations vary—from Las Vegas (where the largest number of poems and energy are focused) to stops in points across …

The Altercatio Ecclesiae Et Synagogae As A Late Antique Anti-Jewish Polemic, Michael J. Brinks

Masters Theses

The Catholic Church's newfound influence in late antiquity led to the political marginalization of the empire's Jewish community, a marginalization that is evident in Christian polemic against Judaism written after the Empire's religious transformation had largely been consolidated. This thesis is an analysis of the Altercatio Ecclesiae et Synagogae, written anonymously in the fifth century. Its primary intention is to discover what earlier writers influenced its author, what can be known about him, when the text was written, and what kind of arguments against Judaism he used.

The thesis begins by comparing and contrasting the anti-Jewish writing of Cyprian …

Creative Metacriticism: The Portrayal Of Literary Theory In Contemporary Fiction, Zaydun Ali Al-Shara

Dissertations

Some modern creative writers have shown a talent not only in writing tales, but also in philosophy and theory as they examine questions and problems in fiction-making and the very act of reading. This dissertation examines the role the metafictive novel plays in the development of literary theory and fiction. I explore how writers of this type of novel emerge as creative metacritics who overtly and/or covertly, through their fiction, respond to and critique literary theory. The inquiry examines the reciprocal relationship between the fiction of creative metacritics and important movements in literary theory in the late 20th Century. All …

Mapping The Global Landscape In Women's Diasporic Writing, Martha Addante

Dissertations

As a contribution to the theory of cognitive mapping, the dissertation examines the ways in which contemporary novels by women writers of diasporic literature offer new conceptual maps of the present global space. This study argues there is a need for alternative mapping strategies that locate the female diasporic subject within the new global political economy. Fredric Jameson's theory of cognitive mapping and Arjun Appadurai's model of global flows provide a useful framework for mapping global space, yet each must be filtered through a feminist critique and modified by a feminist politics. Ultimately, the dissertation argues for a feminist theory …

The Use Of Music In Early Childhood Centers In British Columbia: A Survey Of The Perceptions And Practices Of Early Childhood Educators, Michelle Lawrence

Masters Theses

This study explored the current practices of early childhood educators' utilization and perception about music in their classrooms. Early childhood educators are defined as individuals who have completed post-secondary training at an accredited college or university in early childhood education and are registered with the ECEBC Registry. Early childhood centers are defined as either preschools or licensed group child care centers. An online survey was been designed to obtain information regarding demographics and characteristics of early childhood centers in British Columbia, relevant musical and educational training, comfort level of the early childhood educator leading group music activities, implementation of the …

From Picture To Word To The World: A Multimodal, Cultural Studies Approach To Teaching Graphic Novels In The English Classroom, Shannon Renee Mortimore

Dissertations

Sequential narratives such as comics, graphic novels and Manga (Japanese-style comics) have long been popular in youth culture. Recent attention has shifted to the potential of utilizing these alternative texts in the secondary classroom, yet very little information for English teachers exists regarding how to engage students in close, careful, and culturally informed analysis of these works. While there is a long tradition of thoughtful analytical teaching about literary texts, when it comes to the study of various media with strong image content, language arts teachers often may not know how to proceed. Indeed, preconceptions about the legitimacy of comics …

Representaciones De La Memoria De La Guerrilla Antifranquista En La Novelística Española Contemporánea, Nuño Castellanos

Dissertations

In the last few years a very controversial concept known as "the recovery of historic memory" has become of utmost importance in certain social and political spheres in Spain. This matter has been addressed by a law approved in July of 2006 during the socialist government under Rodríguez Zapatero. This law recognizes the efforts of those who in 1936 defended the Republican democracy, those who were persecuted by Franco regime and suffered internal and external exile, and those who fought against dictatorship and in defense of the fundamental liberties that Spaniards enjoy today. This complicated process of memory recuperation is …

From Birth To Death Of Cool, Brandon Theriault

Honors Theses

I first heard the music of Miles when I would visit my uncle in his surburban neighborhood outside Detroit. He celebrates Miles's entire discography, a value I do not share, but we do agree on when Miles was truly "kickin' it": 1965-1974. The "adolescence and early manhood of cool" always grabbed me with its transitioning attitude and sea of creative performers assembled by Davis. His whole career is teeming with innovative ideas and outstanding sidemen, but my obsequious writ will favor the years he "kicked it".

Good Death: A Community Conversation, Jasmine Lake

Honors Theses

No abstract available. Playbill.